Lawsuit is in Kleckley’s hands

Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley
could hold the key to the fate of a bill that is aimed at killing a
lawsuit filed against
97 oil, gas and pipeline companies. Senate Bill 469 got out of the
Senate last week by a razor thin vote and is awaiting action
in the House.

Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, will send the
bill to a House committee this week, and that decision could be
critical for its future.
Some attorneys have said they believe it belongs in the House
Civil Law and Procedure Committee because it deals with obligations
under the law. However, the legislation could also go to the House
Natural Resources and Environment Committee, which is identical
to the Senate committee where it was resurrected.

The suit being attacked was filed by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. It claims that canals dug by
oil and gas companies for their exploration and drilling activities hastened coastal erosion that has destroyed areas that
helped protect the coast from hurricanes and flood surges.

HB 469 was conceived by co-conspirators Sens. Robert Adley and Bret Allain. When Allain couldn’t get a similar bill killing
the lawsuit out of the Senate Judiciary A Committee, he attached its provisions to an Adley bill awaiting a hearing by the
Senate Natural Resources Committee. The committee approved the bill and sent it to the floor, where it passed last week.

Political observers know that getting bills out of committees enhances their chances of survival. The general public can testify
at committee hearings, but only legislators can debate legislation on the House and Senate floors. And in this instance, a
number of them will vote with Gov. Bobby Jindal, who also wants to kill the suit.

The Senate debate last week was
entertaining in many respects. Even Adley and Allain had trouble staying
on the same page.
They disagreed at one point on whether their hastily contrived
bill was “retroactive,” which means it could go back in time
and nullify that lawsuit. It clearly does that by trying to undo
an action that has already taken place. Most legislation
is “prospective,” which means something that will happen in the
future.

Adley, who is involved in the oil and gas business, at one point said allowing the suit to continue would mean other businesses
wouldn’t come to Louisiana if the suit was successful.

Do you think he really believes the companies would abandon the oil and gas reserves in this state that have made them extremely
profitable for over a century?

Someone who watched the Senate floor debate said anyone who saw it might think they had stumbled upon a “Saturday Night Live”
skit. It’s one of those things you have to see to believe it actually happened.

Sen. Daniel Martiny, R-Metairie, an attorney from Jefferson Parish, doesn’t like the lawsuit either. However, he sponsored
an amendment that would have killed the bill. He believes, if it succeeds, the issue will definitely end up in court.

Martiny’s amendment said, “The provisions of this act shall be given prospective application only and shall not apply to any
case filed on or before March 10, 2014.”

The vote was as close as you can get.
There were 18 votes for it, and 19 against. If Sens. Troy Brown,
D-Napoleonville, and
Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, hadn’t been recorded as absent, the
outcome may have been different. Or one of those 19 senators
who voted against the amendment could have turned the tide the
other way. Once the amendment failed, the bill passed 24-13.

The yes votes that would have derailed the Allain bill came from 15 senators that represent southern areas of the state and
3 from north Louisiana. Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish, R-Jennings, was one of the 15.

The no votes that kept the suit-killing
bill alive came from 11 senators from south Louisiana and 8 from
northern areas. Sens.
Ronnie Johns, R-Sulphur, and John Smith, a Republican who
represents Beauregard, Calcasieu and Vernon parishes, were two of
the 11.

Adley, a Republican from Benton, lives about as far away from the disappearing coast as any Louisiana resident can get. Allain
is from Franklin, but he said his motive for the legislation is to protect landowners like himself from possible lawsuits
in the event the courts let oil and gas companies off he hook. The landowners have benefited from oil and gas development
on their property.

A number of newspapers and government agencies have supported the efforts of the flood authority that filed the suit.

“Ending the lawsuit without allowing it to get a fair hearing in the courts would be a disservice to Louisiana,” said the
Houma Courier.

The New Orleans City Council and Jefferson Parish Council have urged legislators to reject all bills designed to curb the
lawsuit.

The Times-Picayune said, “Lawmakers
shouldn’t let Gov. Jindal and Sen. Adley short-circuit the flood
protection authority’s
lawsuit. A court can decide whether the lawsuit has merit. ....
Lawmakers ought to base their votes on the public good, not
on what might make a particular industry uncomfortable.”

The bottom line here is bigger than the
oil and gas companies, the legislators who are trying to give them
immunity from their
responsibilities and the attorneys who are working for the flood
authority. The goal is to halt coastal erosion and restore
the coastline that is so critical to the economic and physical
well-being of the people of Louisiana.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than five decades. Contact him at 494-4025 or jbeam@americanpress.com.